The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1887-06-08


TO perish; she Is going down. Oh, how |
many good people are affrightened by in
EQUITY in our day, and think the church of |
Jesus Christ is going to be overthrow, and !
are just as much affrightened as were the dis |
ciples of my text. Don't worry, don't fret, |
as though iniquity were going to triumph
over righteousness
A lion goes into a cavern to Sleep He lies
down, with his shaggy name covering the
paws Meanwhile the spiders spin web
across the mouth of the cavern, and say:
ave have captured him" Gossamer thread
after gossamer thread is spun until the whole
front of the cavern Is covered with the
spiders web and the spiders say: "The lion
is done; the lion Is fast. After awhile the
lion has got through sleeping; be rouses him
self, he shakes his name, he walks out into
the sunlight; he does not even know the
| spiders web Is spun, and with his voice he
shakes the mountain.
So men come spinning their sophistries and
| skepticisms about Jesus Christ; he seems to
| be sleeping They say: ave have captured
| the Lord he will never come forth again
upon the nation; Christ is captured forever
| His religion will never make any conquest
among men, But after while the Lion of
the tribe of Judah viii rouse himself and
come forth 70 shake nightly the nations
| What's a spiders web to the aroused hon1
| Give truth and error a fair grapple, and
| truth will come off victor
| But there are a great many good people
| who get afrightened in other respects; they
| are affrightened in day about revivals.
| They say: "OhI this is a strong religious gale;
we are afraid the ciAerch of God is going to
be upset, and there are going to be great
many people brought into the church that are
| going 10 be Of no use TO it," and they are
| affrightened whenever they see a revival
taking hold of the churches.
| As though ship captain with 5000 bushels
of wheat for a cargo would say, some day,
coming upon deck: Throw overheard all
| cargo" and the sailors would say: aWhy, cap
| tain, what do you meant Throw over ali the
| cargop "Oh," says the captain 1--WE have
peck Of cheff that has got into this 5000
| bushels of wheat, and the only way to get rid
| Of the chaR is TO throw all the wheat over
board" Now that is a great deal wiser than
the talk of a great many Christians who want
to throw overheard all the thousands and
tens Of thousands Of souls who are the sub
iects of revivals. Throw all overheard be-
cause they are brought into the kingdom of
God through great revivals; because there is
peck of chaff, quart of chaff, pint of
chaffl / say let them stay until the last day;
The Lord will divide the chaf from the wheat
oh, that these gales from heaven might
sweep through all our churchesl Oh, for such
DAYS as Richard Baxter saw in England and
Robert McCheyne saw in Dundee! oh, for
such days as Jonathan Edwards saw in
Northampton! have often heard my father
tell of the fact that in the early part of this
| century revival broke out at Somerville,
n. j., and some people were very much agi-
tated about 1t. They said: "Oh, you are
going to bring too many people into the
church at once;" and they sent down to New
Brunswick to get John Livingston to stop the
| revival.
Well, there was no better soul in all the
world than John Livingston. He went and
looked at the revival; they wanted him to
stop it. He stood in the pulpit the Sab
| bath and looked over the solemn auditory and
he said: "This, brethren, is in reality the
work of God; beware how you try to stop it. {"
And he was an old man, leaning heavily on
his staff-a very old man. And he lifted that
staff, and took hold of the small end of the
staff and began to let il fall very slowly
through between the finger and the thumb,
and he said "Oh though impenitent, thou
art falling now-falling away from life, fall
ing away from peace and heaven, fall
ing as certainly that cane is fall
ing through my hand-falling certainly,
though perhaps falling slowly" And the cane
kept on falling through John Livingston's
hand. The religious emotion in the audience
was overpowering, and men saw type Of
their doom as the cane kept falling and fall
ing until the knob of the cane struck Mr.. Liv-
ingston's hand, and he clasped it stoutly and
said, "But the grace of God can stop you as
stopped that cane;" and then there was glad
ness all through the house at the fact of par
don and peace and salvation. swell" said
the people, after the service, II guess you had
better send Livingston home; he is making
the revival worse" Oh, for the gales from
heaven and Christ on board the shipi The
danger of the church of God is not in revi
walls.
Again, my subject impresses me with the
fact that Jesus was God and man in the same
being. Here he is in the back part of the
boat. Oh, how tired he looks; what sad
dreams he must havel Look at his counte
nance; he must be thinking of the cross tc
come. Look at him; he is man-bone Of
our bone, flesh of our flesh. Tired, he fall.
asleep; he is man. But then find Chris
at the PROV of the boat; hear him say
"Peace, be STILL and see the storm kneelinf
at his feet and the tempests folding theil
| wings in his presence; he is God
If l have sorrow and trouble and wan
| sympathy go and kneel down at the bacl
4
one of Gennesaret, sympathize with all my
sorrows, man of Nazareth, man of the cross.
| A man, a man. But if want to conquer my
spiritual foes, If 1 want to get the victory
, over sin, death and hell, come to the from
of the boat and kneel down and say: &C
Lord Jesus Christ thou who dost hush tn
tempest, hush all my grief; hush all m,
temptation; hush all my sin" A man,
| man; God, a God.
, / learn once more from this subject tina
Christ can hush tempest.
1t did seem as il everything must 60 Il
ruin The disciples had given up the idea O
managing the ship; the crew were entirsl,
, demoralized; yet Christ rises. and he puts hi
foot ON the storm and it crouches at his feet
, | Oh, yes, Christ can hush the tempest
, You have had trouble. Perhaps it was tn
! little child taken away from you-the sweet
! est child of the household, the one who askes
I the most curious questions, and stood aroun.
you with the greatest fondness and the spad
cut down through your bleeding heart. Per
: haps it was an only son, and your heart ha
: ever since been like desolated castle, tn
4 owls of the night hooting among the falan,
q arches and the crumbling stairways
Perhaps it was aged mother You al
), ways went to her with your trubles. Sh
9 was in your home TO welcome your children
y into life, and when they died she was there t
4 pity you; the old hand win do you no NOR
q kindness that white lock Of hair you pu
away in the casket, or in the locket, didn'
4 look as 1t usually did when she brushed
A away from her wrinkled brow in the hom
r. circle or in the country church Or YOU
r property gone. you said: 81 have SO mucl
L bank stock, have so many government Sc
II curities, have so many houses, have s
many farns'-all gone. all gone.
Why sir al fha sfos-rne that 49,. -. :.
their thunders, all the shipwrecks have no
y been worse than this TO you Yet you hay
not been completely overthrown Why
= Christ hushed the tempest Your little ON
u was taken away. Christ says: 81 have tina
u little one in my keeping. l can care for hin
as well as you can, better than you can
bereaved motherfn flushing the tempest
: : When your property went away God said
There are treasures in heaven, in banks tina
. never break" Jesus hushing the tempest.
| There ia one storm into which rua win al
have TO run The moment when we let go O
: this life, and try to take hold of the next. W.
: viii want all the grace possible Yonder
! see Christian soul rocking ON the surres q
death; all the powers of darkness seem let on
: against that soul-the swirling wave. tn
thunder Of the sky, the shrek of the wind. al
seem to unite together; but that soul is no
, troubled; there is no signing, there are n,
tears, plenty OF tears in the room at the de
parture, but he weeps no tears calm. salts
! fed, peaceful; all is well aBy the fash O
the storm you see the harbor just ahead, ant
you are making for that harbor. All shall
be well. Jesus hushing the tempest
Into the harbor of heaven now we glide:
We're home at last, home at last.
Softly we drift on its bright, silv'ry tide,
We're home at last
Glory to Gcds all cur dangers are DER.
D We stand secure on the glorifled shore:
/ GLORY God We cf<.,f